BABY BORN 12 WEEKS EARLY SO MOTHER COULD START CHEMOTHERAPY DIES

Heidi Loughlin, 32, discovered she had a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer after falling pregnant with her third child. Doctors discovered her cancer in September after she noticed a rash on her breast while feeding her baby son Tait.

She was given the option of terminating the pregnancy so she could begin aggressive chemotherapy. But she decided to keep her baby and begin a less aggressive form of treatment which is expected to start on Wednesday, December 23.

Her baby had to be born 12 weeks prematurely in order for her to be treated for cancer. The baby named Ally Louise Smith was delivered by C-section on December 11, weighing just 2lb 5oz but died on Saturday.

Ms Loughlin, from Portishead, north Somerset posted a poem dedicated to her daughter on her blog. In it the mother of three wrote:

"Yesterday afternoon our hearts broke in two. For we had to say goodbye to you.The pain in my body and heart and my soul feels it will consume me and leave me un-whole".

Writing on her blog after Ally's birth, the mother-of-three said she was "absolutely thrilled" to announce the baby had been born safely.

"She was born today via c section at 1237. She came out foot first and is breathing on her own. She weighs 2lb 5ozs. She has a Laughlin (sic) nose and she has more hair than me"